Cooling bed actuating mechanism



COOLING BED ACTUATING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 26, 1952 INVENTOR. ROGER KINNICUTT JR.

ATTORNEY Feb. 18, 1958 R. KlNNlCUTT, JR 2,823,548

COOLING BED ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed March 26, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ROGER Kmmcur'r JR.

ATTORNEY Feb. 18, 1958 R. KlNNlCUTT, JR 23, 8

COOLING BED ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed March 26, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

ROGER Kmmcurr JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent-Office 2,823,548 Patented F eb. 18, 1958 gan Construction Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation ofMassachusetts Application'Marcli 26, 1952, Serial No. 278,689 r 2Cl aims. (cl.74--44 This invention relates to cooling-bedrne'chanisms and more-particularly to apparatus for actuating the packing armsor a cooling-bed.

The cooling of bars and the like "as they issue from a rolling mill is often done on a cooling bed having a series of notched'menibers extending transversely of the bars. Some of these members are'fixed and serve to support the bars, while the others are movable :and serve to-transferthe bars from one notch to another in zthe fixed members. One method of operation of such a cooling bed that has met with considerable success is called the pack annealing method." This"involves asisembling a considerable number "of ,bars'insta'cked. relation-and 'tnoving' them as a unit across the bedfroninotch to notch, this serving'to prevent suddencooling with its attendant disadvantages. :ln order to carry on this method of -operation, it is necessary to transfereach barfrom the rutiout table to the first notch of the fixed bars bymeans of -a kick-off in'echanism;-then, the -b arsrare stacked in the second no'tch by use of a packing'arrnwhich moves up- 'wardlyiunder each "bar lyingin the first notch and lifts 'it'=upwa-rdly and forwardly. When the bar reaches "a position overthe'second notch, the surfaceof the packing armis inclinedin sueha manner, that the bar slides off into the notch. 'It hasbeen discovered that the optimumtran'sfer of bars takes place when the packing arm moves upwardlyand'forwardly at a fairly constant velocity,stop's over the-second notch and remains there momentarily while the bar slides 01f, and then returns to its initial position. f'lhis motion prevents the bar from leaving the packing" arm and pursuing an uncontrollable path' of'fiightbeforelanding in th'e second notch. The inclination of the surface of the packingarm andthe stopping of the packing arm serve to make the component of weight ofthe bar parallel-to the surface greater than the friction force's' and-the bar slides on. If'the path of the packing arm is selected properly, the bar will slide off in ;the.-desired position in the notch, for instance, :on'top'of the stacklof-preceding bar s. However, previousgm'echanis'rris' forproducing such a motion-for the packing'arm have 'notfbeen readily adaptable to conditions in a rolling mill. The mechanism is called upon, to exert fairly large forces and must be-quite rugged. Generally speaking, the :rnecha'nisrn: will be. situated. .lIIlClQL the coolirigfibed and will be subjected to the action of scale, dirt, and water.

The present invention satisfies in a novel manner the needs 50 for a mechanism which will function under those condiconsiderable period of zero velocity motion. after which the movement takes place back to the point of origin.

Astill further object of the instantinvention is the pro- VlSiOlJ'Df a mechanism for producinga cycle of motion of the-packing arm of, a cooling bed, said cycle involving a movement upwardly and forwardly at a constant velocity, a pause for a considerable period of time, and a movem'enttothepoint of origin. 7

Althoughthe novel features which" are characteristic of thislinventionwill be particularly pointed-out in the claims appendedhereto,the-invention-itself, as to its objects and advantages, the mode of its-operation and the manner of its organization will beb'etter understood by referring to th'e'followin'g description taken in connection with the ac'omptmYirigdrawings' forming a part thereof, in which: Figure 1 isa top view of an apparatus embodying the presentinvention,

Figu're"2 is a sectional, somewhat enlarged, view of the app ratus taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3is 'anelevation' 'view of the apparatus with portions broken away taken 'on the line -33 of Figure 2, and Figure t'is an elevational'view of 'the apparatus, partly seetioned, taken *on the line" 44 of Figure 2.

Referring first to Figure '1, wherein are shown the general aspects of the invention, the cooling bed mechanism; generally designated'by the reference character 10,

comprisesa motor 11, a speed reducer 12, a gear box13,

and a motion converter 14. The'motor'llwhich may be any one of -several types, but'which preferably is capable ofspeed control, is connected through'a coupling 15'to the-speed reducer 12. The speed reducer may be'any one of--severa'l well-known types having the function of receiving power on' its input shaft at a Igivenspeed and driving'apparatus connected to its output-shaft at a considerably reduced rate of rotation. The reducer is *connectedthrough a coupling 16 to the gear box 13. The gearbox '13 has two parallel, driven' output'sha'fts 17 and 18 which emerge from the opposite s'ide-o'fthe box "from 'an input-shaft and which are spaced Vertically from-one another. The shafts 17 and 18are provided' witl'isimilar cranks 19 and 20, respectively, which are keyed to and rotate with their'respective shafts. TheoUter ends of the cranks 19 and 20 are pivotally'connected through similar connecting rods 21 and 22, respectively, to a 'yoke23; The outer ends of the yoke 23 are pivotallyconnected to the connecting rods and the center porti'on'is 'pivot-a-lly connect'ed'to a slide'24 which'moves with recipiocat'ory 'motion only within the motion converter "The slide 2415 pivotally connected to a drive shaft 25 which-extendshorizontally from the'converten- The drive shaft is connected through various'barsand levers, not shown, "to 'the-packing arm -of the cooling bed, also not shown. fThis -latter connection is such that the packing arm partakes ofa motion similar to that enjoyed'by the drive shaft 25; I

Referring next to Figure 2, wherein is'sho'wn the spe- -cific structure of the-motion converter 14, it can'be seen that the yoke 23,-the connect'ing rods and '22; and "the cranks 19' and 20=move in planes perpendieularto the shafts 1 7 and=18 to which they are attached and-gb which means they are driven. The yoke 23 is pivtally mounted on a journal 26 which is a part of the slide 24.

Generally speaking, the slide 24 consists of two side members 27 and 28 spaced from each other and joined by a forward crossbar 29, a rearward cross bar 30, and the journal 26. A journal member 31 is provided at the forward portion of the slide and it is on this journal that the drive shaft 25 is pivotally mounted. Referring next to Figure 4, the slide 24 is supported in a main housing 32 having opposite, spaced, upstanding walls 33 and 34 having guide members 35 and 36, respectively mounted on their opposed upper portions. The guide members extend horizontally throughout the length of the main housing 32 and are formed externally with a dove-tail section which mates with a similarly shaped groove in the walls 33 and 34. They are fixed in the housing and held in position by means of clamps 37 and 38 which are suitably bolted to the walls 33 and 34, respectively. The sliding surfaces of the side members 27 and 28 and the guide members 35 and 36 are of a rectangular sectional conformation suitably relieved for lubrication. From this view of the apparatus it can be seen that the yoke 23 consists of a main hub rotatably mounted on the journal 26 having arms 39 extending in opposite directions adjacent each of the ends of the main hub. Each arm 39 has a hub 40 at its outer end in which is mounted a journal 41. Each journal 41 bridges its hubs 40 and has one of the connecting rods 21 and 22 rotatably mounted thereon between the hubs.

Referring next to Figure 3, wherein its best shown the structural details of the gear box 13, the shafts 17 and 18 are mounted in a housing 42 having a removable cover 43. Bearing members 44 are mounted in one side of the housing for supporting the crank end of the shafts, while bearing members 45 are mounted in the other side of the housing for supporting the other end of the shafts. Suitable seals and associated equipment are provided for each bearing. Keyed to the shafts 17 and 18 and movable therewith are similar gears 46 and 47 respectively. These gears are spaced vertically with respect to each other and both mesh with a pinion gear 48 keyed to the input shaft of the gear box. I

The operation of the mechanism will now be evident from the above description. The motor 11 will be driven at a speed determined by the desired rate of operation of the packing arms of the cooling bed. The motor speed will be considerably reduced in the reducer 12 whose output shaft is connected to the input shaft of the gear box 13. The pinion gear 48 is keyed to the input shaft and drives the gears 46 and 47 in the same direction at the same speed of rotation. This means that the shafts 17 and 18 move in the same direction of rotation and at the same speed. The cranks 19 and 20 are thus driven together in the same direction and at the same speed; it is to be realized, however, that the outer ends of the cranks, which ends are pivotally attached to the connecting rods 21 and 22, reside in points which are symmetrical to the center line of the, drive shaft 25 only once in a revolution. As a matter of fact, the ends of the cranks at any given moment are at points which are not only on opposite sides of lines drawn through the centers of their crank circles parallel to the drive shaft 25, but are also on opposite sides of a line joining the centers of their crank circles. This causes the center of the yoke 23 to move in a cycle of motion which is made up of a first phase of constant velocity motion in the forward direction, followed by a phase of zero velocity for an appreciable period of time, which is then followed by a phase of constant velocity rearward motion back to the point of origin. It is to be understood that the transition between phases may involve a short period of'exponential or harmonic motion, but these are reduced to a minimum by the present device. The slide 24, of course, partakes of the motion of the center of the yoke and so does the drive shaft 25. Ultimately, the pack arm moves in a iycle of motion similar to that of the center of the yo 0.

While certain novel features of the invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it must be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essence of the invention.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a rolling mill having a cooling bed with packing arms, a mechanism for actuating said packing arms, comprising: a gear box having an input shaft connected to a source of power, said gear box having two parallel, vertically-spaced, output shafts driven in the same direction of rotation and at the same speed, a crank fixed at one end to each of the output shafts of the gear box and rotating therewith in planes perpendicular to the axes thereof, a motion converter housing, guides mounted in said housing, a slide mounted in said guides for reciprocatory motion in a line parallel to the plane of crank motion and lying between the center lines of the output shafts, a yoke mounted on said slide on a pivotal axis passing through its center and parallel to the centerlines of the output shafts, said yoke extending in opposite direction away from the slide, connecting rods each at tached at one end to a free endof the yoke and at the other end to the free end of a crank, and a drive shaft connected to said slide for imparting the motion thereof to the packing arms.

2. A mechanism for actuating the packing arm of a cooling bed, comprising: two parallel, vertically spaced shafts, a gear fixedly mounted on each shaft, a pinion gear meshing with the shaft gears and being driven from a source of power, the shafts being caused to rotate in the same direction and at the same speed, a crank fixed to each of the shafts and rotatable therewith, a slide mounted for reciprocatory motion only in a line per pendicular to the axes of the shafts and lying therebetween, a yoke mounted on said slide for rotation about a line passing through the central portion of the yoke, said line being parallel to the axes of the shafts, two connecting rods pivotally attached at one end to an end portion of the yoke and at the other end to the free end of a crank, the axes of pivotal attachment of the connecting rods to the yoke and the cranks being parallel vto the shaft axes, and a drive shaft connected to said slide for movement therewith, the distances from the axes of the shafts to the axes of pivotal attachment of the connecting rod to thefree end of the respective crank arms being equal.

References Cited in the file of this patent 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 7,902

Italy Feb. 20, 1948 

